Sweet Relief - A Benefit For Victoria Williams

"I never knew I had so many friends!" says Victoria Williams. Indeed, when the Louisiana-bred singer and songwriter was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the spring, 1992, performers from all over the musical spectrum sprang to her aid with their moral, financial and musical support. One tangible result of this outpouringof love is SWEET RELIEF: A BENEFIT FOR VICTORIA WILLIAMS, the initial album release from the new record label affiliation between Thirsty Ear Communications and CHAOS

(a dimension of Columbia).

SWEET RELIEF was created as a fundraiser to offset Williams' mounting medical costs, but it offers equal significance as a brilliant showcase for this artist's remarkable songs, contained here in newly-recorded interpretations by fourteen of today's most vital recording acts.

From Soul Asylum's impassioned reading of "Summer of Drugs" (the first track to be released from the album) to Pearl Jam's haunting "Crazy Mary' (with Williams on guitar and vocals); from Lou Reed's dryly witty "Tarbelly and Featherfoot" and Matthew Sweet's poignant cover of "This Moment," to indie bands Shudder To Think's "Animal Wild" and Buffalo Tom's "Merry Go Round"; from head Lemonhead Evan Dando's plaintive solo version of "Frying Pan" and The Waterboys' giddy Caribbean-flavored reworking of "Why Look at The Moon" to Michelle Shocked's heartfelt gospel rendition

of "Holy Spirit," SWEET RELIEF will hold equal appeal for longtime Williams admirers as well as those hearing these compositions for the first time.

ABOUT 'SWEET RELIEF'

Victoria Williams was first diagnosed with MS -- a degenerative neurological dis-ease that affects the central nervous system -- in the spring '92, while touring the U.S. with Neil Young. News of Victoria's illness, which left her with thousands of dollars in medical bills -- and, like most musicians, no health insurance to cover her expenses -- spurred an unprecedented flood of support from her peers.

An impressive array of Victoria's friends and fans (including T-Bone Burnett, Shawn Colvin, Vic Chesnutt, Marshall Crenshaw, Maria McKee, Bob Mould, Michael Penn, Lou Reed, Jules Shear, Syd Straw, Lucinda Williams and others) volunteered their talents, performing at benefit concerts in New York and Los Angeles. Those shows raised over $20,000, and inspired Williams admirers Sylvia Reed and Kelley Walker

to assemble SWEET RELIEF. The new album features original new versions of composi- tions drawn from Happy Come Home and Swing The Statue (Victoria's two albums), and two more songs, "Crazy Mary" and "This Moment," which have yet to be recorded by

their author.

All label and artist royalties from the sales of SWEET RELIEF will be applied to

Victoria Williams' medical expenses; at the same time, a portion will be paid to the Sweet Relief Musicians Trust Fund, which Williams has set up to aid other artists in similar predicaments.

- 2 -

ABOUT VICTORIA WILLIAMS

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Victoria Williams is widely respected as a uniquely compelling performer and a gifted songwriter. Her compositions balance innocent wonder with the wisdom of experience. After gaining her early performing experience singing in local truckstops, Victoria relocated to Los Angeles, where she busked on the streets, improvised songs on the boardwalk at Venice Beach, and sang R&B standards with the Johnny Otis Revue.

Before long, Victoria emerged as one of the L.A. scene's most promising young

talents. Her two albums, Happy Come Home (Geffen, 1987) and Swing the Statue (Rough

Trade, 1990), helped Victoria her a devoted international following and a reputation as a songwriter's songwriter. She went on to cover Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" for the 1989 Young tribute album The Bridge; and contributed an original new song, "Love," to the 1992 cult movie hit Gas Food Lodging.

Victoria has also been the subject of short films by noted directors D.A. Pen-nebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Gus Van Sant; she made her acting debut in Van Sant's upcoming adaption of Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get The Blues. Immediate plans are to recording an album of new songs for release in 1993. There is the additional possibility of U.S. reissues of her first two albums, which are presently out of print in this country.

Several of the contributors to SWEET RELIEF express their personal feelings on

the singer and the songwriter:

"Victoria's music is an adventure, and her special world has more per-sonality than anything else you'll ever listen to."

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

"Victoria Williams is a genius. Unfortunately, we're not kinfolk, but I'm glad to be standing this close with some of her other friends and admirers who want to help her out in a tough time."

Lucinda Williams

"A delicate crossing of Mickey Mouse and Michael Jackson without the weirdness.

Fine bee stung lips, as well as one of the finer electric guitarists

on the planet.

Precious, yet not without her buggings.

Beautiful.

Well tapped into careless abandon as well as the child within.

Ancient."

Howe Gelb of Giant Sand

"Like a cottonwood tree and swimming in a summertime river with some- one you really love, Victoria's music has meant so much to me. I hope lots of people hear these songs and all the songs to come."

Mark Olsen of the Jayhawks

- 3 -

"Playing Victoria Williams' music was like swimming in the ocean for

the first time... a cold, salty smash in the face, mixed with a sus-picious undertow -- things that really wake you up."

Chris Colburn of Buffalo Tom

"Victoria Williams, my home girl, walks 6 inches off the ground, a holy sprite. We grew up in the same swampy part of the world, but she's the one who reminds me of the possibility of life on this planet."

Michelle Shocked

"Vic is one of the sweetest people I know -- the album is just a

natural expression of the respect we all feel."

Michael Penn

"One look at the roster of artists, and it's clear that this is no typical compilation/tribute record; nor is it your average artists-for- cause-of-the-week typething. That someone like Victoria can rally such a strong group of people is testimony to her songs, and to the breadth of her spirit. Sweet Relief Musicians Trust is not just a 'good cause,' it's a necessity. The high cost of health insurance is more than just

a headache -- for some, it is an impossibility. As musicians, we make next to nothing and the money we do earn tends to go to the immediate necessities: food, rent, van maintenance etc. It's easy to avoid health insuranceuntil it's too late! You're stuck with 9 lives worth of bills for impossibly huge amounts of money. Victoria is dealing with this first hand, but instead of taking care of herself, she's seeing to the care of musicians in the future that they not have to face the health care nightmare penniless. That's beautiful -- and so is her music."

Shudder To Think

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Soul Asylum, "Summer of Drugs"

Long a beloved fixture on the Minneapolis hardcore scene, this foursome has evolved a thoughtful and melodic, yet still agressive approach. The band has scored a major

commercial breakthrough with the RIAA gold Grave Dancers Union, its seventh album

(and first for Columbia Records).

Lucinda Williams, "Main Road"

Louisiana-bred singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams, a longtime friend of Victoria's, has long been held in high esteem by critics, her fellow musicians and fans lucky enough to have heard her independently-released albums. More recently, she has

gained increased prominence thanks to her album Sweet Old World, as well as Mary-

Chapin Carpenter's hit cover of Lucinda's composition "Passionate Kisses."

Pearl Jam, "Crazy Mary"

This Seattle quintet, which rose from the ashes of the fabled Mother Love Bone, quickly emerged as one of the young decade's most impressive success stories with

Ten, their multi-platinum 1991 debut album, which weds intensely personal lyrics and hard-hitting musical statements.

- 3 -

Buffalo Tom, "Merry Go Round"

A Boston trio specializing in impassioned hard-driving rock 'n roll, Buffalo Tom has

recorded three albums (the most recent being 1992's Let Me Come Over) that have made

them an alternative rock favorite on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Jayhawks, "Lights"

Minneapolis' Jayhawks have won reams of critical acclaim (and now audience approval

for its rootsy, personally-charged country-rock. Hollywood Town Hall, their third

album, was a fixture on numerous 1992 Best-of lists.

Shudder To Think, "Animal Wild"

This uncompromising Washington D.C. quartet has mixed hardcore energy with musical sophistication and articulate lyrics to become one of the most acclaimed young bands on the indie scene. Their most recent album is Get Your Goat.

Lou Reed, "Tarbelly and Featherfoot"

A seminal figure as a leader of the legendary Velvet Underground as well as for his pioneering work as a solo artist, Lou Reed is one of American rock's true originals.

His recent albums New York and Magic and Loss are among his most acclaimed works; he also recently released his first book of lyrics, Between Thought and Expression.

Maria McKee, "Opelousas (Sweet Relief)"

First as frontwoman with L.A.'s Lone Justice and more recently as a solo artist, Maria McKee has earned a reputation as both a powerhouse vocalist and an impressive songwriter. Her second solo album is You Gotta Sin To Get Saved.

Matthew Sweet, "This Moment"

Nebraska-bred singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Matthew Sweet scored a major

success in 1991 with his third album, Girlfriend. Altered Beast, his latest release,

seems likely to repeat its predecessor's combination of commercial and critical acceptance.

Evan Dando of Lemonheads, "Frying Pan"

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Dando has led various lineups of Boston's pop-punk Lemon-

heads through five albums. The latest, It's A Shame About Ray, has found the group

expanding its audience far beyond its original college-radio following to become one of today's most prominent alternative acts.

Michael Penn, "Weeds"

L.A.-based Michael Penn's intelligently infectious songs have established him as one

of this country's most impressive young singer/songwriters. His two albums, March

and Free-For-All, were welcomed in both alternative-rock and mainsteam-pop circles.

- 4 -

The Waterboys, "Why Look At The Moon"

Scottish-born, New York based singer/songwriter/guitarist Mike Scott has helmed the Waterboys through various lineup configurations and stylish permulations, emerging

as one of rock's most ambitious visionaries. The long-awaited Dream Harder is the

Waterboys' sixth and latest release.

Giant Sand, "Big Fish"

This Arizona-based combo, led by the mercurial desert-dwelling singer/guitarist Howe Gelb, has long been respected as one of underground U.S. rock's most iconoclastic bands. Giant Sand's association with Victoria Williams goes back several years; she guested as lead guitarist on the band's 1990 tour of Europe, and she is featured on their 1991 album Ramp.

Michelle Shocked, "Holy Spirit"

Activist singer/songwriter Michelle Shocked has made a lasting mark in music with

four albums of her rootsy folk-pop tunes. The latest is Arkansas Traveler, which

teams her with an array of guest players that ranges from Taj Mahal to Uncle Tupelo.

"COLUMBIA/CHAOS" Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Copyright Sony Music Entertainment Inc.